About the Plano Civic Chorus

The Plano Civic Chorus, Inc., chartered in 1972, is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the choral arts in North Texas. The chorus is a member of Chorus America, and actively supports its goals of nationally promoting choral music.

With the 2009-10 season, the chorus celebrates 37 years of great choral performances. The chorus sings a broad repertoire that offers something for every taste. In recent seasons the chorus has sung several choral masterpieces, including Mendelssohn's Elijah,  Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, Verdi's Requiem, Orff's Carmina Burana, Vivaldi’s Gloria, Handel’s Messiah and Mozart's Requiem. Other concerts have included performances of favorite Broadway love songs, great American classics, folksongs from the British Isles, music by home-grown Texas composers, and well-known opera choruses.

Every year the chorus participates in community events. including the Collin County Peace Officer Memorial Service in May, and several citizenship ceremonies for the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration.

The Plano Civic Chorus is a diverse group of auditioned singers who come from many communities across North Texas and from all walks of life. Auditions for the chorus are held twice a year and all voice types are always welcomed.  

The chorus has participated in several prestigious events in its 34-year history. Among them was a March 1998 appearance at New York’s Carnegie Hall as part of the North Texas Festival Chorus in a special performance of Mozart’s Requiem, and an appearance at the Texas Choral Directors' Association convention in San Antonio. In June 2002 the chorus joined with the Sanctuary Choir of First Presbyterian Church in Richardson for a two-week tour of the British Isles that involved singing engagements in prestigious cathedrals in Coventry, Canterbury, Edinburgh, and Dublin, and at the Criccieth Choral Festival in north Wales. In June 2005 the two groups joined forces for a second European tour that included performances in the Czech Republic, Austria and with the International Church Music Festival in Bern, Switzerland under the direction of the legendary Sir David Willcocks. Most recently, in June 2006, the chorus was invited to take part in the Hot Springs Music Festival's 10th anniversary gala in Hot Springs, Arkansas.

In 2003 the chorus named Simon Sargon as its first Composer in Residence. Mr. Sargon is Professor of Composition at Southern Methodist University and a highly respected and much-published composer. Throughout his long association with the group, the chorus has premiered several of his works: his poignant choral trilogy, The Wisdom of Solomon, his dramatic setting of Psalm Eight, an arrangement of three Christmas spirituals entitled Christmas in Black, and most recently, Bonie Wee Thing, a collection of four songs based on the poems of Robert Burns. 

For more information on the Plano Civic Chorus, email us at info@planocivicchorus.org.